World Water Day 2000
Water for the 21st Century

UNESCO World Water Day site
UN ESCAP Water Resources
Ceremony marking WWD2000 in Jordan

“The availability and quality of water is increasingly under strain. Even if conditions were to remain constant for the foreseeable future, much of the world would find itself in a state of water-related crisis. To make matters worse, populations are growing most rapidly in those areas where water is already in scarce supply”.

This is how Wim Kok, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, starts his welcome words in the second announcement for the Second World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference that will enroll in the Netherlands in the week prior to 22 March.

From 17–22 March 2000, hundreds of water specialists, politicians, leading experts and top officials from all across the globe will convene in The Hague. This event will mark the conclusion to a long series of sessions during which thousands of concerned citizens addressed the water crisis that threatens us all. In The Hague a Vision on Water, Life and the Environment will be unveiled projecting a scenario of how the world could look twenty-five years from now - if we take action today. A world with enough clean water for everyone. To implement this vision a plan of action will be announced, the Framework for Action.

The key elements of the Vision address basic issues such as

• the right to water and sanitation
• the challenging concept of more crops and jobs per drop
• the essential water services provided by natural ecosystems
• the risk of floods and droughts
• the need for international cooperation and governance to better address water issues.

“The Second World Water Forum will not be a conventional conference, but a global venue where motivated minds collectively work towards averting a wold water crisis. A special market place will give groups and organizations the opportunity to present ad discuss ideas. Aside from water professionals and policy makers we have invited stakeholders to participate and voice their opinions. Stakeholders occupy a crucial role , as no solution can be sustained without their wholehearted support”. His Royal Highness The Prince of Orange, Chairman of the Second World Water Forum

Initiated by the World Water Council, the Vision is currently being prepared under the guidance of the World Water Commission on Water for the 21st Century.

“Water is Life. Yet this precious resource is widely mismanaged. Unless we change our ways of managing water we will face serious crises in the near future”.

These are the words of Ismail Serageldin, Chairman of the World Water Commission, Vice President of the World Bank, and Chairman of the Global Water Partnership (GWP). GWP is developing the Framework of Action that aims to implement the Vision at regional, national and global levels.

A parallel Ministerial Conference on 21 and 22 March will discuss the Vision and Framework to seek political commitment to address the looming water crises through national action.

On 22 March in the afternoon participants of the Conference and the Forum will convene for the closing ceremony, which includes the celebration of World Water Day.